All Ireland Pride of Place Award celebrated in Creggs
Pictured at a Pride of Place celebration in Creggs following the win for the village of an All-Ireland award for Biodiversity and Climate Change were members of the committee of Creggs Rural Development with Cllr Liam Carroll, Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council. Front row (l to r): Deirdre Bradley, Mary Kelly, Cllr Liam Carroll, Sean Beirne, Chairperson, and Theresa Browne. Back row l to r: Pauline Scott, Declan Maloney, Fiona Brandon, Carmel O’Rourke, and Sheila Beirne.
A special celebration was held in Creggs recently to mark the win by the local development association in the recent All-Ireland Pride of Place Awards.
Creggs, nominated by Galway County Council for Pride of Place this year, won the award in the Biodiversity and Climate Change category.
The community turned out in large numbers at the hall of the local national school for a special celebration of the community success.
Development Association Chairman Sean Beirne said that the award was the result of hard work by the many organisations in the community.
Mayor of County Galway, Mr Liam Carroll congratulated Creggs on a fantastic achievement and spoke of the importance of topics like biodiversity and climate change, especially for young people in Creggs and all over the county.
He recalled a difficult few weeks in terms of climate change, especially for communities who lived by the sea and stressed the need for all communities to be involved in climate change projects. He said that Creggs had represented Galway to the highest standards and the achievement would be a motivation for other communities and small villages.
The Leas Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, Dr Evelyn Parsons, also congratulated Creggs on the great win. She spoke of the linking of so many community organisations and many agencies for the benefit of Creggs and making sure that no one was left behind.
She said that Creggs had proved that a united community could be a force for positive change.
At the event she also launched the Kilbegnet Historical Society annual calendar entitled “Old Cures for All Ills over the twelve months of 2024". Mr Larry Kilcommons from the Kilbegnet Historical Society said that the group was delighted to be part of the Pride of Place success and recalled the success of the restoration of the Bog Cherry Tree Project as a major part of the biodiversity work.
Cllr Declan Geraghty spoke of the peace and richness of the rural area and called on all, young and old, to enjoy that quality of life in their communities.
Parish Priest Fr. Donal Morris spoke of the “sense of place” and getting stuck in with the continuation of work for the community, availing of grants which enriched the community with benefits for all the people.
Sean Beirne thanked all the government agencies for their help especially, Galway and Roscommon County Councils, Rural Development, Tus, Solas, the clubs the principal, staff and students of the local school as well as the priests, Gardai and many other agencies. A number of other politicians also spoke and congratulated Creggs on its success.
